Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
We do not see God physically.
"No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."
— John 1:18
God is spirit.
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
— John 4:24
We "see" Him through spiritual means.
"Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, "Show us the Father"?'"
— John 14:9
Jesus is spiritual and now because of His new life in us so are we.
“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
— Matthew 18:20
When we come together with intention for Him, we find Him and see Him among each other.
And so can others.
"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."
— 2 Corinthians 2:14
Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, April 7, 2025.
You know what is wonderful to me?
God's government works even when I do it wrong.
Hallelujah.
Examples:
When I love, even though I do it woefully imperfectly—because it's from God's government—love still hits its mark and achieves its purposes¹.
His love never fails, despite my deficiencies².
Hallelujah.
When I gather with other believers, seeking God's face—even though they're not perfect, I'm not perfect, and even though we do and say so many things wrong—I still find Him.
I still learn something more.
I still grow closer to Him³.
Where two or three are gathered for Him, He's there, despite our getting so much wrong⁴.
Grace.
He does the work. He achieves His purposes, even with broken vessels that are submitted to Him⁵.
The word of our Lord Jesus is true: “Seek the Kingdom of God”⁶, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”⁷
God's government works even when I get it wrong.
You know what this does for me?
It removes the fear of death⁸.
It removes the risk of failure.
It allows me to go forward boldly and to be about our Father's business without fear⁹.
His word will not return void¹⁰—and that's what I'm stepping out on TODAY—and this is key—in pursuit of Him.
Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, April 6, 2025.
Too often, we as Christians are quick to point out what others are doing wrong, but conviction is not our job—it’s the Holy Spirit’s¹.
We focus on the works of people's hands when we should be ministering to the condition of their hearts.
Beating the hell out of fruits does nothing to change the tree² and the vicious cycle continues.
Our role is not to condemn the fruit of sin³, but to cultivate the soil of people's hearts for a new Tree—His heart that is received by all who believe in Christ⁴.
We do this by living under Christ's lordship—governing ourselves⁵ and rightly using all that belongs to Him⁶ in a way that the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven is both expressed in word⁷ and experienced in deed⁸.
May we all, like our Lord and Savior, proclaim and demonstrate, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like…"⁹
Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
We're living in an incredible time of flux and uncertainty in our country.
There's an extraordinary amount of activity that's kicking up a lot of dust, but when that dust settles there will be a new set of winners and losers.
Whether we, Starkville, emerge as a winner will depend on our city's leadership having the skill, experience, and—perhaps most importantly—the relationships with the various partners and entities that drive our economic development. The ability to make the necessary strategic decisions and investments will be critical in determining our future.
Having served with Mayor Lynn Spruill on a number of different boards and committees, I have had the unique opportunity of working with her through another incredible time of flux and uncertainty: the COVID pandemic.
The challenges faced by our local industry and municipality were extraordinary—namely navigating the logistical nightmare COVID created for city projects. I witnessed Mayor Spruill take these issues in stride—with a steady hand, she confronted these issue with skill and decisiveness while cooperating with other leaders and stakeholders to successfully navigate a minefield.
It was something to behold. I learned a lot through that ordeal. Our Mayor is an operational strategist par excellence. During a period that could have easily resulted in contraction, Starkville achieved growth.
We are extremely fortunate to have her.
Even while managing these high-stakes responsibilities, she remained actively engaged in supporting all of Starkville, including under-resourced areas of our community. I had the privilege of working alongside her on some of these initiatives and saw her invest—not just her own money, but her time, voice, and presence—despite the extraordinary demands on her schedule.
Mayor Spruill has been accessible, skillful, strategic and principled in her leadership of Starkville. I am delighted that she decided to run again as we desperately need her at the helm to see us through yet another challenging season and to put Starkville in a position to win.
Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, February 23, 2025.
“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Is there a time where Jesus was any more human?
Because though He was separated, He was not forsaken.
But at this moment He's bearing our sin and this is sin's effect: separation. It's a state change so profound that God refers to it as death. We can feel it, and it registers as God not being there.
At this moment Jesus fully and intensely experiences the agony and consequence of sin—separation from God. Yet, He trusts the providence of the Father.
“No one takes [my life] from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
— John 10:18
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
— Hebrews 4:15
This is how He won—achieving our salvation and the redemption of all of creation—by trusting the Father.
This is our God, the author and finisher of our faith, our King, our Commander-in-Chief, our example.
"He teaches my hands to make war"
— 2 Samuel 22:35
"Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name"
— Philippians 2:1-9
Like Him, we are fighting for Communion—the reconciliation of all things: oneness with God, within ourselves, with one another, and with all of creation.
This is how we war.
This is how we win.
Trust God, who has not forsaken you—no matter how it feels.
Sin has changed the world, becoming central to our experience even to the extent of changing our understanding of what it means to be human.
Sin causes separation.
The sense of this separation that causes us to feel like God is not there is a very human experience.
But it is not reality. God is there and because of His faithfulness to His purposes in creation and His unfailing love toward us, He provided atonement that is made available in Jesus Christ.
Even those who have accepted His atonement may still feel separated because sin remains present in and around us (Romans 7:14-25).
There still dwells with us the consciousness that is governed and walks according to the pursuits and illusions of this fallen world—the carnal man, as Scripture refers to it.
This is the old man of sin, which we must die to—one sin at a time, day by day. In the meantime, sin obstructs our enjoyment of God.
Therefore, we seek to be governed and to live more and more according to the new man, which is being born in us by faith in Jesus Christ—the One who gives us new meaning.
In this process of dying to sin and living to God, especially early on, it feels as though God is not there—that we've been forsaken.
But God has not forsaken us. He is there and we must trust (regardless of how we feel) to the very end in order to win (Matthew 24:13), just like Jesus—who showed us how to be perfectly human.
The prize—knowing Him, uniting with God, our exceedingly great reward—is indescribably worth it and we can have it to an ever-increasing degree, starting right now.
Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Faith is not a feeling. In fact, faith is the very thing that keeps me going when my feelings suggest that I should give it up.
And what is "it" that feelings (which often result from influences of the world) suggest I give up?
Life and its functions.
I'm not talking about giving up on empty ambitions: cars, houses, money, titles… Satan specializes in and preoccupies us with beautiful dead things.
I'm talking about a place for me in God with the family of God—the sweet communion of God, through Christ with His children facilitated by the Holy Spirit.
To be in Him is to be alive. It is life. (John 1:4, 15:4)
“He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.”
— Mark 12:27
Faith is life's force, the outworking and evidence of life in us. As life begets life, life is faith's pursuit.
Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, February 10, 2025.
I have received notes about how I disappointed people with my post about Elon Musk last week. Rather than addressing each one individually—since they share a common theme, and because I believe open, honest discourse is valuable—I have decided to respond here in a single public post.
Most of those who wrote to me, as far as I can tell, did so with sincerity and genuine concern for me and the church. So firstly, thank you. I am deeply appreciative that you cared enough to engage and challenge me. I love you for that. I've prayerfully considered your admonishments and want to respond in earnest.
I've chosen an excerpt from one of these notes that I believe best represents the central theme of the rebuke,
"[Your post] does nothing but stir up division on a matter that is not a cut and dry scenario. […] Does taking such a strong public stance on how you as an individual interpret [Musk's] intentions do anything to edify the body of Christ as a whole?"
It is not my heart to be political. It is not my heart to put my finger on the scale and tilt it in one direction or another. It is my aim to be only concerned with Christ's kingdom. I believe if you remove the lens of political fealty, see me as someone who loves you rather than as an enemy who is opposing your desire, and then examine not only what I've said but how I've lived among you, you'll see that—concerning myself with the business of Christ's kingdom—is what I've done.
Christ's kingdom springs from the heart of men, so I think it fitting to concern ourselves with what hardens hearts to His kingship. And were it not for the church idolatrously deifying politics and political personalities, there would be no occasion to protest. But in that we've been caught bearing these idols in the church—bringing the outside inside—so that they, rather than GOD: The Father, The Word and The Holy Spirit, are made an authority that informs how we relate to each other and the world (when it should be the other way around), it is necessary to make war against this would-be invader.
You say I, "stir up division," and in a way you're right—because in some cases, division is necessary.
"For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you."
– 1 Corinthians 11:18-19
Jesus Himself said,
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword."
– Matthew 10:34
So what's the line [along which division is necessary]?
Christ.
In Christ + something else, the "+ something else" should be vigorously attacked—like T cells against foreign agents in the body—because that "+ something else" obstructs Christ (and consequently His life in us).
"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
– 2 Corinthians 4:6
Light.
I get the sense from many Christians that any contention, any deviation (not from Christ but) from earthly and cultural power structures that attempt to entrench themselves (often as Christ), is "divisive" and destructive. These conflate conformity for unity. Christ is our unifier—the heavenly Bread without any leaven of earthly consideration that is broken over the table of Holy Communion. Communion with God through Christ is what unity looks like, not conformity to cultural or political ideals.
Not all contention is bad. Not all division is destructive. We are soldiers. We are fighting toward communion. And the fight is good (2 Timothy 4:7).
When Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men" in Matthew 5:16, what do you think He meant by "light"? To say benign, pleasant "spiritual" things that make people feel good but isn't confrontational?
No. Light generally occurs by some form of violence: collision, combustion, chemistry—one thing giving way to another—or, reflection. Even in reflection there is violence. We reflect God. His reflection in our lives results in contrast to the darkness around us. There is a reaction on contact causing a release of power and something submits— darkness yields, thus light.
We are called to violence, the violence of us warring against what hinders communion, the violence of combustion as we burn the things in our lives that don't belong so we can come together, the violence of chemistry as our lives react to the word of God causing agreement and coming together, the violence of reflection that makes us distinct from the world, beckoning others who are drawn by its light so they too can participate in this violence and increase its glow—His glory.
"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force."
– Matthew 11:12
But, "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood" (Ephesians 6:12). And, I think you will find upon truthful examination that I never took aim at a person, or at a political party. I took aim at a stronghold, an argument, something that exalted itself against (and obstructed) the knowledge of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).
I was rightfully warring against an idea that was suggested by a gesture done by a person that Christians are praising. Such an endorsement by Christians implies that God approves, and in many cases I've seen people assert that God ordained it. Were it not for that idolatrous obstruction to the knowledge of Christ and that demonic misrepresentation of God's heart, I would not have been compelled to denounce it.
You say, the matter is not "cut and dry". Does it need to be? If my wife saw some woman whispering in my ear, and was offended at the interaction because she felt it was romantic, is the appropriate response defensiveness and to argue from a position of her wrongness and my rightness? No. That would be disastrous. But what would be even worse, is to say nothing at all. The only appropriate response is to immediately and wholeheartedly declare, "That is not my heart!" And proceed to establish the truth of my love for her, then and only then, explaining the facts of the interaction. This is the spirit of "speaking the truth in love" as we're commanded in Ephesians 4:15.
So, insofar as the gesture suggested hatred, division and oppression, I denounce it and wholeheartedly declare, "That is not God's heart!" And, I now proclaim the love, oneness, and liberty that is in Jesus Christ.
The other front on which I fight is purging the leaven from our love feasts. And this is the division I gladly promote: not dividing the family of God, but dividing my beloved brothers and sisters from the idols that hinder our love. I am not fighting against them, but against the idols they bear in their hands. And I am going to continue to war against them until they're abandoned or destroyed. Communion with God through Christ is our sole pursuit.
"[…] contend earnestly for the faith […] keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."
– Jude 1:3,21-23
To your question, "does taking such a strong public stance on how you as an individual interpret one's intentions do anything to edify the body of Christ as a whole?", what it does ultimately remains to be seen but I can tell you that it is my heart to edify the body. I'm fighting toward communion with you in Christ. While it may seem divisive initially, it's actually a call to the body of Christ and an effort to remove the barriers that obstruct our unity in Him. I believe our loving, honest, and respectful dialogue—flowing from a heart given to us by Christ—is deeply edifying to us and glorifying to God.
The fiasco in question is but one scintilla of the countless things the church has allowed to impede our unity. And the answer is not ignoring the issues but making war against every single one—sparks flying with such a fury as we fight toward each other, that the whole world is aglow with our beautiful warfare. We need more of these difficult "divisive" conversations, not less—so we can demonstrate the wonderous power of the Holy Spirit to simultaneously wage war against hell and give us peace with one another (Ephesians 4).
Even if I am wrong, my desire is to please Him and give Him a fervor that can never be accused of being lukewarm.
Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, February 8, 2025.
We too often take a prescriptive approach to the Word. By that I mean we want to use scripture like a prescription for some pain rather than what it is: life for the person.
"Prescription" is the way of the world—like going to a bad doctor who prescribes pills that medicate you (things that make you feel better temporarily and in the process create all kinds of other issues), but doesn't heal you.
And we try to use scripture that way. It's like going to a good doctor who wants to heal you, who correctly diagnoses the issue and tells you the remedy is more leafy greens, and then we go get some kale and rub it where it hurts. 🤣
No. That's not how the remedy works. We must consume it consistently over time and its healing properties aren't isolated to just one area.
True healing comes through health, and health isn't isolationist—it's integrative.
We try to take scripture and rub it where it hurts. We're looking for specific passages, devotions, or Bible studies to alleviate specific pain and to solve specific problems, when the real problem is we're unhealthy—we're dead, or struggle with deadness.
Jesus came to give us life (John 10:10). His Word is the true food that gives life. He is life.
We don't apply it; we consume it. When we understand that, we stop picking through it looking to scratch an itch, looking for application. We consume the word because it's good, whether we understand it or not, or whether it seems relevant at the moment or not.
The health that food produces in us is rarely immediately perceptible. It produces its benefits over time. That's why our consumption can't just be something that we do in a moment, but a whole other way of living.
And it makes no sense to eat what's good and eat other things that counteract its effect. We have to choose one and abandon the other.
As we mature, we understand more about what it means to live a healthy lifestyle and how to choose life. We don't need a degree in organic chemistry, but we do develop a general understanding of what sources are good.
"Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."
— James 1:16-17
Jesus is the source.
We consume Him that He may be formed in us and that we may become a picture of health.
That is the solution to every problem and the healing for every hurt. Healing isn’t compartmentalized; health is whole—it is One.
So our aim should be to consume for health rather than seeking a pill for symptoms. Life and health is having Him.
Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, January 23, 2025.
Part of my Bible Study this morning took me through Exodus 20.
A link was made in my heart between Exodus 20:1-17, the ten commandments, and Mark 12:29-31, where Jesus teaches the greatest command is to love God with everything, and the second greatest is to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.
I observed that the first four commandments are about how to love God (Exodus 20:1-11), and the last six commandments are about how to love your neighbor (Exodus 20:12-17).
I now begin to see how ingenious Jesus' teaching is in Mark 12:29-31. He makes a link between the law and love. It is deeply instructive about the true nature of love (origin, exclusiveness, respect, …)
I also find that the commandments (that I now understand are necessary for love) are not about doing, but not allowing. It's not work, but anti-work… Grace is implicit.
The word is true:
"Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
— Romans 13:10
